Key Movements

On paper, it appears that Chinese Canadians are finally accepted to be a part of Canadian society. However, several major events since 1947 show how the community continues to fight back against systemic racism. 

In 1979, W5, a series on CTV, released an 11-minute documentary called Campus Giveaway suggesting that foreign students were taking university spaces away from Canadians. Their footage of ‘foreign students’ actually portrayed Chinese Canadians, who were either Canadian-born or permanent residents. 

The incident demonstrates a deeply-held perception of Chinese Canadians as perpetual foreigners, whether they are newcomers or have been in Canada for generations. It also reinforced the long-standing notion of “Yellow Peril,” which deems Asians as an existential threat to the Western world. The depiction of Chinese Canadians in the documentary resulted in outrage and mobilization from the Chinese Canadian community. Asian community coalitions were formed across the country, and paved solidarity between Indigenous, Asian and Black communities. Over sixteen anti-W5 committees were created who demanded an apology from CTV.   

It also led to the formation of the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) whose purpose is to promote equity, social justice, and civic participation. Olivia Chow, who is now the Toronto mayor, said that CTV did eventually apologize, months later when threatened with a lawsuit.

In 1999, four boats carrying 599 undocumented migrants from China landed in British Columbia. Echoing 19th and early 20th century discourses, mass media warned of the threat of millions more coming unless strong action was taken. In the face of this outcry, the government incarcerated over 400 hundred of the migrants without trial for up to two years until they were deported. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, human rights violations against migrants can include a denial of civil and political rights such as arbitrary detention, torture, or a lack of due process. 

The incarceration of the boat people contrasts with the treatment of other undocumented migrants who are granted mobility until they have a formal hearing. The voices of the boat people and hence their reasons for coming to Canada were almost entirely absent from public discourse. Indeed, many were labeled illegal immigrants before their boats had even landed, or immigration officials had interviewed them. This reproduced the exclusion of Chinese voices that has fueled racist panics going back to the 19th century and the Yellow Peril fear that significant Asian migration, and Chinese migration in particular, will destroy Canada. 

In 2010, Maclean’s magazine published an article titled “Too Asian” which echoed similar sentiments compared to the W5 incident. The author described minority communities as “ethnic ghettos,” and critiqued Asian parenting placing too much emphasis on academics.This incident reveals how Chinese Canadians could still be “othered” through an ingrained bias of an institution, even in contemporary times,demonstrating that the Yellow Peril sentiment is still a problem today. 

This public incident reveals how ‘othering’ of a racialized community like Chinese Canadians by an institution operating with an ingrained bias can happen in 2010 in Canada. The article was condemned by multiple Asian committees, and politicians including but not limited to now Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Senator Vivienne Poy. Several post-secondary institutions hosted public events from faculty staff members and students educating the public and discussed the implications of the article. Unlike CTV, no apology has been made from Maclean’s magazine. 

The global outbreak of Covid-19 brought a rise in anti-Asian sentiments. The resurgence of anti-Asian hate at the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic was exacerbated by the Atlanta killing of eight Asian women sparked outrage and protests from the Asian diaspora around the world, including Canada. Targeted hate crimes against the Asian community in Canada also highlighted that Anti-asian and Chinese racism is still a problem. In Canada, during the pandemic, a survey conducted in Toronto showed that there was a 47% increase in Asian hate reported in 2020, mainly from women. However, hate crime reports from youth or children saw a 282% increase. There was a dramatic 42% increase in Asians Canadians reporting violent crimes such as being coughed or spat on from 2020 to 2021. In Vancouver, police revealed a 717% spike in Asian hate from 2012 to 2020.  

However, instances of Asian resistance were seen during the pandemic, the formation of the Asian Canadians Together (Act2EndRacism network brought together by the Action, Chinese Canadians Together.) However, instances of Asian resistance were seen during the pandemic. For example, Friends of Chinatown Toronto, an organization that helped the elderly community by providing translated copies of vaccine and health information and helped with dissemination of the information. They also delivered food to seniors in community housing and ensured that community fridges were not empty. The current wave of Anti-Asian hate amplifies the persistent systemic and individual acts of discrimination that Chinese and Asian Canadians face as well as the widespread inequitable treatment of racism faced by Asian Canadians in Canadian society. 

Chinese Canadians face ongoing challenges, including the need to increase civic engagement, address persistent under representation in leadership roles across sectors, intended and unintended consequences in institutions and systems manifested through contemporary policies due to Anti-Chinese and Anti-Asian biases. 

While these challenges have proven the strength and the resilience of Chinese Canadians, each time when anti-Chinese and anti-Asian events happen, we must take a stand, voice out and build on our history of resilience and resistance to bring the necessary change.